Budget Okavango Delta & Savuti Safari in Botswana

Botswana Safari Highlights:

• Camping in the heart of Botswana's Okavango Delta
• Safari Activities with private guides at Oddballs' Camp
• Guided walking safaris on Chief's Island in the Okavango Delta
• Mokoro safaris in the Okavango Delta (when water levels are high enough)
• Game viewing in the renowned Savuti Marsh of Chobe Park

Day 1 to 4: Maun to Oddballs’ Camp - Okavango Delta, Botswana

This Botswana Safari begins in Maun, where you are collected by Delta Air for your scenic flight into the pristine Okavango Delta. Enjoy breathtaking aerial views of the delta en route to the airstrip where your friendly, personal guide meets you. This local guide is shared between a maximum of two guests and is assigned to you for the duration of your stay in the Okavango Delta.

Your base for exploring the massive Okavango Delta is Oddballs' Camp, a remote bush hideaway that is only accessible by light aircraft. The laid-back but comfortable tented safari camp is set on the edge of Chief's Island, the largest of the delta islands, bordering on the world-famous Moremi Game Reserve.

Spend your first night in the magical delta at Oddballs' Camp, before embarking on a two-night camping trip to Chief's Island. Please note that the camping trip is conducted in Mokoro canoes when water levels are high enough (after the rainy season). When the water levels are high we explore the intricate network of winding channels, peaceful lagoons, and reed-dotted islets by mekoro - a gentle and relaxing way to explore the beauty of this untouched wilderness. Mekoro are traditional-style dugout canoes used to navigate the narrow maze of waterways and estuaries in the Okavango Delta. On mokoro rides your guide stands in the stern of his old-school canoe (hand-crafted out of wood), propelling two passengers through the waters with a long pole.

If the water levels are too low during your safari in Botswana, walking safaris (especially fresh and early in the morning) will replace the mokoro rides. Nothing on the island is motorized which makes for a tranquil stay at Oddballs. Discover the fascinating creatures and plants that make up this precious wetland ecosystem, whilst walking with your guide in the wild heart of this inland delta. On your nature walks in the delta you get up close to the marvels of the bush, big and small - the ideal chance to take once-in-a-lifetime photographs.

Sharing his in-depth knowledge your guide points out the fascinating insects, plants, animal tracks, and other signs of animal activity in the bush - all the finer details that the untrained eye would normally miss. The guides are experienced and trained to keep you safe at all times, even whilst stalking a lion in the tall grass! Keep an eye out for elephants, lions, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, impalas, hippos, and crocodiles, some in large numbers. The birdlife is another astounding feature of the Okavango Delta, all drawn here in their thousands because of the water.

Your guide is a born-and-bred local who knows this part of the Delta inside out. The guides come from Sedibana village, located near the camp, and are descendants of the baYei tribe which moved into the delta in the late 1700s with their mekoro. You can visit the village with your guide to see the locals' simple way of life in this beautiful place. You may meet the chief, the elders, and even your guide's family. You will have the chance to buy some local crafts in Sedibana, where the women are known for their basket weaving.

Back at camp, delectable meals are served on the spacious deck areas where you can spot visiting wildlife and birds. Guests have even been entertained by jostling hippos in the nearby water. At the end of your last day at camp you can put your feet up and admire a beautiful sunset over the wilderness, listening to the sounds of nature as the stars come out.

• Flight into the Okavango Delta by light aircraft
• Guided Delta Walks on Chief's Island
• Wild Camping Trip (walking or by mokoro if water levels allow)
• All meals and accommodation at Oddballs' Camp

About Oddballs' Camp in the Okavango Delta

At this charming Botswana camp, you stay in one of the 15 large dome tents set under canvas roofs on raised wooden platforms sheltered by reeds. Each well-equipped tent features a semi-detached en suite bathroom with an open-air, yet private bucket shower with cold and hot running water. The comfortable tents are set on raised wooden platforms with viewing decks where you can sit back and soak up the pristine delta environment and wandering wildlife.

This remote tented camp features elevated decks with bar and lounge areas opening onto the bush and campfire so that guests can enjoy the dreamy views in comfort and style. Sitting on one of the decks of Oddballs' you look out over the delta grasslands and untamed woodlands beyond, catching sight of birds and wildlife nearby. The dining room overlooks the Boro Channel, Chief’s Island, and across into the Moremi Game Reserve. Your evenings can be spent relaxing around the open campfire or in the social lounge and bar areas, where you can get to know your fellow guests on safari in Botswana.

One of the best things about this safari camp is its simplicity - offering a real back-to-nature experience in a beautiful location deep within the Okavango Delta. This family-friendly Delta Safari camp uses solar power to generate electricity, with no noisy generators. Another hallmark of this eco-friendly camp is the wonderful staff, friendly and helpful, they rank right up there with the views. The focus here is on slowing down and appreciating this magnificent wilderness setting with its many wild inhabitants.

Wild Camping in the Okavango Delta

Our camping trip takes you deeper into the Okavango Delta where you camp wild in the bush.

Your guide sets up a remote camp in a level clearing, looking for a shaded spot under some trees. On these two nights, you sleep in dome tents fitted with twin sleeping mattresses and pillows. The pillows and mattresses have fresh covers over them, but you need to bring your own sleeping bag. Alternatively, you can hire a sleeping bag from Oddballs' Camp for the camping trip. The tents feature little canvas awnings that provide shady spots for sitting back and taking in the pure wilderness.

A camping table and chairs are set up for dining in the bush by lantern light. During the camping trip, guests help to prepare meals together, making mealtimes a social group effort. At the end of your adventure-filled days of exploring the delta on foot or gliding along the waterways in a mokoro (in season), you can relax beside the flickering campfire, listening to the sounds of mother nature.

Day 5 to 6: Oddballs’ Camp to Ghoha Hills Camp - Chobe, Botswana

Day five of our safari in Botswana starts with breakfast at the rustic Okavango Delta camp, before we set off for our next safari. We fly from Oddballs’ Camp to the Savuti airstrip inside the world-renowned Chobe National Park. Then a 45-minute game drive takes us through the bush to Ghoha Hills Camp in Chobe National Park. This intimate safari camp lies on a ledge of the Ghoha Hills looking out over the wildlife-rich Savuti Channel and African bushveld surroundings.

Over the next few days, you explore the diverse Savuti region of Chobe Park on morning and afternoon game-viewing drives in open safari vehicles in search of the plentiful wildlife found here. Savuti is known as one of the best places in the world to see predators, especially large lion prides. Predators roaming the plains and grasslands of the Savuti Marsh region include numerous hyenas, jackals, endangered African wild dogs, and even cheetahs.

In recent years, the Savuti Channel began to flow again, after over ten years of lying dry. The waters of the flowing channel have brought this once-arid part of Chobe back to life, reviving the vegetation. The oasis-like marsh attracts herbivores of all shapes and sizes, which in turn draws the prowling predators. The now vibrant Savuti Marsh ecosystem boasts such an animated wildlife spectacle that it has become the subject of some award-winning documentaries.

We drive along the fringes of the channel and marshy wetland areas, admiring the wild scenery and looking out for the plethora of birds and wild animals. We see baobab trees, San Rock Art and the curious Pimple Hills. Your guide will happily answer questions on the game drives and share his detailed knowledge about the local fauna and flora in Botswana with you.

• Flight to Savuti by light aircraft
• Morning and afternoon game drives
• All meals and accommodation at Ghoha Hills Camp

About Ghoha Hills Camp in Chobe National Park

This private safari camp hosts up to only 27 guests at a time, offering exclusive accommodation in eleven luxury tented rooms with en suite bathrooms. These spacious tented suites have stunning views over Savuti and are positioned to provide guests with some privacy.

The area around Ghoha Hills Camp hosts a high concentration of wildlife, including large predator populations. Lions and hyenas are frequently spotted on game drives in Savuti, as well as elephants and a range of antelope species. Ghoha Hills Camp's main thatched area boasts a cool rock swimming pool next to an observation platform with unmatched 180-degree views. They have a view of a waterhole where animals come to drink. There is also a spa with a selection of indulgent treatments and optional spectacular helicopter trips that may be arranged.

Day 7: Ghoha Hills Camp to Maun, Botswana

On day seven you have a choice of sleeping late or rising early for a dawn drive to the hide for coffee and wildlife spotting. Then we return to Ghoha Hills Camp and tuck into a scrumptious breakfast.

After breakfast you hop back onto a small plane and return to Maun, enjoying the views of northern Botswana as you fly. Arriving back in Maun our unforgettable safari in Botswana comes to an end.

• Morning drive to the hide
• Flight to Maun by light aircraft

Botswana Safari Note:

We only recommend booking this Botswana Safari for travel during the late fall, winter, and early spring seasons in Botswana. This is because the summer months are uncomfortably hot for walking safaris in the Okavango Delta and the water levels are not high enough for proper mokoro trips. We have therefore only listed the tour departure dates available within the date range we recommend.